Sex, lies and velodromes
Anthony Peden had an inappropriate personal relationship with a female athlete while he was Cycling NZ sprint coach, an independent review has found.
Peden was also involved in numerous instances of bullying and part of a small group of individuals at CNZ who had a drinking culture.
Lawyer Michael Heron released an 83-page review of CNZ’s high performance programme yesterday, after interviewing more than 70 people.
The review was instigated after allegations about Peden’s conduct became public following his resignation in May.
CNZ’s code of ethics, signed by Peden in February, 2014, says coaches ‘‘should not only refrain from initiating a sexual relationship with riders, but should also discourage any attempt by a rider to initiate a sexual relationship with you’’.
Considering the cumulative impact of a number of factors, Heron was satisfied ‘‘there was an intimate and sexual relationship between [Peden] and [a] female athlete’’.
While neither consented to an interview, Peden did provide an initial written statement, and both he and the cyclist responded to a draft of the report.
While Peden ‘‘submitted that the evidence was unreliable and inaccurate’’, he would not pinpoint errors, the review said.
Heron found the relationship ‘‘was not disclosed’’ to CNZ ‘‘by either party’’, and ‘‘it was aggravated by the circumstances that the then partner of the athlete was also an athlete in the programme’’.
While Heron did not name the athlete said to be involved, he listed 11 factors that supported his finding there was an inappropriate relationship, among them being:
❏ they were ‘‘seen along together in social settings’’.
❏ the athlete ‘‘was seen regularly at [Peden’s] house from October, 2017, onwards’’.
❏ there was ‘‘favouritism from Peden to the athlete’’.
❏ the ‘‘athlete admitted to at least one person interviewed she was sleeping with [Peden]’’.
Another factor was an incident in Bordeaux, France, in the leadup to the Rio Olympics in July, 2016, where Peden and the athlete returned to the team hotel at ‘‘approximately 2.30am’’.
Heron was told they ‘‘they were clearly intoxicated,’’ with a witness describing seeing ‘‘an intimate moment between them’’.
Peden was given a formal verbal warning following this incident as well as an alcohol ban, which he was said to have breached on several occasions.
Heron found ‘‘a young female athlete [was] pressured to lie,’’ about events in Bordeaux and ‘‘the team manager was later put under pressure by [Peden] not to speak about the incident’’.
He also found issues said to be behind the incident relating to Peden, that arose from an accident in 2015.
It had subsequent health concerns Heron said, which ‘‘were very important background features,’’ and for CNZ ‘‘an opportunity to support [Peden] in this area was missed’’.
Heron wrote that while Peden ‘‘submitted that the evidence was unreliable and inaccurate’’, he would not pinpoint errors.
‘‘At no stage did [Peden] provide an alternate narrative or explanation of events,’’ Heron said yesterday.
He found the athlete ‘‘stated that she was certain that many statements made to me were fabricated and evidentially weak’’.
‘‘She did not, however, identify which ones were fabricated or provide any alternative explanation for the circumstances I have described.’’
In laying out the potential problems posed by an athletecoach relationship, Heron found ‘‘the subject of sexual relationships between consenting athletes and coaches is complex, contentious, and requires careful attention’’.
‘‘The athlete-coach relationship was described to me as a collaboration based on trust and confidence. It is also a relationship where there is a power imbalance. It is a relationship of trust and power.
‘‘An intimate personal relationship between a coach and an athlete can undermine the necessary trust and confidence. Among other things, this threatens high performance as considerations beyond welfare and performance are likely to interfere.’’
Peden, coach of the year at the 2014 Halberg Awards, is now working as a coach with the Chinese national team.